Publicists Nominate ‘The Interview’ for Top Movie Campaign
Sony’s promotional campaign for its satire “The Interview” has been nominated as one of last year’s top campaigns by Hollywood publicists with the International Cinematographers Guild.
The guild, which operates as Local 600 of the Intl. Alliance of the Theatrical Stage Employees, included “The Interview” as one of six nominees for its Maxwell Weinberg Publicists Showmanship Motion Picture Award.
The other nominees are 20th Century Fox for “The Fault in Our Stars”; Marvel/Walt Disney Studios for “Guardians of the Galaxy”; Warner Bros. Pictures for “The Lego Movie”; Paramount Pictures, Pathe and Harpo Films for “Selma”; and Universal Pictures for “Unbroken.”
The winner will be announced at the guild’s awards show on Feb. 20 at the Beverly Hilton.
James Franco portrays a celebrity talkshow host and Rogen is his producer in “The Interview,” in which the duo snag an exclusive in-person interview with North Korean leader Kim Jong-un and are recruited by a CIA agent (Lizzy Caplan) to assassinate the dictator.
The studio was hit by hackers on Nov. 24 and theater owners were threatened with terrorism on Dec. 16 if they showed the film. On Dec. 17, Sony pulled the film’s theatrical release in the face of a refusal by major chains to show the film, then reversed course six days later, launching the film on VOD on Christmas Eve and opening on Christmas Day at 330 independent theaters.
Sony announced Jan. 6 that the film had grossed $31 million from online and video-on-demand revenues through its first week and a half in release. The comedy has also generated $6 million in limited theatrical release.
The Maxwell Weinberg Publicists Showmanship Television Award nominees are Warner Bros. Television for “Gotham,” CBS Television Studios for “Jane the Virgin” and for “Madam Secretary,” Netflix for “Orange Is the New Black” and Bonanza Productions, in association with Berlanti Productions and Warner Bros. Television, for “The Flash.”
The Press Award nominees are Grae Drake, RottenTomatoes.com; Mike Fleming Jr., Deadline.com; Jeff Jensen, Entertainment Weekly; Dave Karger, Fandango.com; and Anne Thompson, IndieWire.com.
Nominees for the Les Mason Award to honor publicists are Melissa Kates, ViewPoint LA; Elaine La Zelle, The Walt Disney Studios; Sheryl Main, Unit Publicist; Maureen O’Malley, Warner Bros. Pictures International; and Murray Weissman, Weissman/Markovitz Communications.
The nominees for the International Media Award are Vera Anderson, Mexico; Rocio Ayuso, Spain; Theo Kingma, the Netherlands; Elisabeth Sereda, Austria; and Adam Tanswell, United Kingdom.
The nominees for Excellence in Unit Still Photography for Motion Pictures are Merrick Morton, Dale Robinette, Merie Wallace, Wilson Webb and Barry Wetcher. Excellence in Unit Still Photography for Television nominees are Beth Dubber, Ursula Coyote, Chuck Hodes, John Johnson and Adam Rose.
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